The robots at the Enjoy Budapest Cafe can do it all - they can serve up food and drink, tell jokes, dance with the kids or just hang out. There are 20 different robot models at Tokyo’s Shin-tomi nursing home "making life more fun". (Robots, nurses, health, technology, 'will', 'by + verb + ing' used to say how something is done.)

Yuuka Hasumi, 17, put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone. (K-pop, Japanese hopefuls auditioning, South Korea and Japan.)

Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated on April 30.The plan is to fade into retirement after decades in the spotlight. Friends hope Akihito will have time to indulge his love of tennis, but that could be tough given his age. (Abdication and the Emperor of Japan, conducting an interview, the changing face of royalty.)

During a lull in Afghanistan’s never-ending war Taliban fighters recall laying down their Kalashnikovs and, for a brief moment, enjoying a game of cricket. Cricket is the only one most of the fighters enjoy, commanders say, with matches attracting hundreds of spectators from Taliban-controlled villages when there is no fighting. They are also fans of the increasingly successful national team. (Cricket, sport as a unifying force, Afghanistan.)

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Date: 19 February 2019

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